When I work with a client - no matter what it is, I'm digging into their life and head a little. I get to know her really fast and very well and sometimes this can be a little unnerving.

Oh Dear - what is Claire up to now! No, I don't use this method - although it might work pretty well. I tend toward the dialogue method: Did you go to Cheryl's birthday party?....why?....when did you leave?....did you have fun?
What business of mine is that anyway? (other than just being innocently nosey). If my client tells me she went cause she's family, that's one thing, if she tells me she went cause she carpools with Cheryl that's another - if she went cause her hubby works with Cheryl's hubby, that's something else - if she went cause she thinks Cheryl is higher up on the social chain, that tells me a whole lot!
So what in the world am I after?
Well, I'm looking at her dress and I want to know how deep to make the plunge in front?.....or how va-va-voom does she want to be? ...respectible? ....conservative? ...playful? ....uppity? ...is she a carpooling mom? ...is she a seductress? ...is she a social climber? I'm after what SHE wants.
The same thing happens when we are fitting ourselves. We go through transitions in our lives...rebellious teens, smooth collegiates, sexy newlyweds, sophisticated working gals, responsible moms, respectable parents, proud grand-parents, and you don't think that your style of clothing changes with all that? It does big time.
As in....from this

....to this....same actress, same character - different whole look!

This is one of my fav transformations in moviedom....from Evil Under the Sun.
Who wants to wear the same thing you did when you were in college now that you're giving your daughter away in marriage - please don't!!! (Please no more hip-huggers EVER again!!!)

Imogen Lamport does a good job of describing a lot of this on her blog - science meets fashion. But it still comes down to knowing what you like and what you don't.
Why is this so hard, because it presents questions that we didn't even know to ask, much less the choice. When he don't know how a good garment is supposed to fit, how can you possibly know what a good fit is, if you've never had one?


Neither one of these is a good fit, just because it's "in style" for the moment, may look good on that anorexic model, or because it stretches to fit.
This is important because stretching to fit, is not fitting. Before the day of stretch fabrics, seams would break and rip, so it couldn't be done. Today with those knit and stretch fabrics, there is no limit - to the stretch.
This changes the game when you're talking about fitting and sizes. This makes fitting much more complicated. Fitting in stretch type fabrics is different than wovens. And although it may appear easier in stretch fabrics, it's really not. When you have a fit in a woven fabric, you look neat, well-groomed and well-kept, whereas in a stretch, there are many fitting details that are just not done.
Here's the fun part. When you have a pants pattern that fits, and you develope a pattern from that for stretch fabrics, you get that same style and well-groomed look that you have with the woven. THEN you understand what it's like to have a good-fitting pair of pants.
So why all the fuss - woven smoven. stretch smetch!!! Because this gives you heads up. If you know that it's going to take you 2 hours to fly from Atlanta to Miami (hopefully), then you know what to expect. If you know it's going to take you all day to travel from Seatle to Miami, you're prepared. If you know that you are taking on a big project in fitting a pair of pants, hopefully that will keep you from being discouraged during the process.
The process WILL take a some time
The process will be fraught with confusing signals from your pants pattern.
The process will take some effort.
The process will most importantly yeild a very valuable tool.
Cause once you have that pattern, it will take you an afternoon at most, but usually about 2 hours to whip up those pants. Talk about empowered.
So remember that you're not only fitting your body, you're fitting your mind too. It's a very personal process...you are basically bargaining between being too baggy in the rear to feeling comfy when you sit down, Some of my clients love to feel comfy when they sit, and some hate being baggy - that's all personal, and we as sewists get to make the choice and see that choice into reality!
Enjoy!